A three-year plan of research and training is proposed to study altered iron metabolism in children with HIV disease. The specific research aims are 1) to describe the prevalence of anemia and iron overload in HIV positive children at various stages of HIV disease and in comparison to HIV negative controls; 2) to describe the relationships between iron status and stage of disease. A secondary aim is to relate iron status to oxidation status. A cross- sectional, descriptive study design will be used to analyze physiologic measure of iron status and oxidation status while accounting for demographic data, clinical data, diet and stage of disease. The sample will consist of children of all ages and stages of HIV disease and age and gender matched HIV negative controls. It is hypothesized that altered iron metabolism will be more prevalent in HIV infected children than in HIV negative controls and that, within the infected group, this alteration will be more prevalent in children with more advanced disease. The overall goal of this proposed doctoral training is to develop a greater understanding of the prevalence and consequences of altered iron metabolism in HIV infected children who are particularly at risk for poor health outcomes as a result of this alteration.